‘shinui’ Party Struggles with ‘intellectual Image’

One element that the Movement for Change (Shinui) finds difficult to change is its image: in the words of Knesseter Mordechai Virshubsky, number two on the party’s proposed list for the 10th Knesset, “The party had the image of intellectuals from North Tel Aviv.”

Not that the intellectuals from North Tel Aviv are misrepresented on the list, but there are several names among the top ten that may help change this image. Third on the list is Druze Knesseter Zeidan Atche of the Druze village of Isfiya, near Haifa. Eighth is lawyer Rina Sh Ashua, a woman, member of the Mideastern community. Tenth is Eli Alfasi of Yokneam, near Haifa — considered the representative of the development towns.

Nevertheless, the party still seems to have the largest number of academic degrees among its leaders. It is led by Prof. Amnon Rubinstein, a leading jurist and a senior columnist in the Haaretz daily. Virshubsky himself is a lawyer, formerly the legal advisor of the Tel Aviv municipality. The list also includes Prof. Yehoshua Porat, a leading Mideastern expert, at the seventh place. Dr. Moshe Becker of the Technion is at the ninth place.

DRUZE ELECTION HAILED BY PARTY

“The very fact that a Druze was elected third on the list in secret democratic elections indicates that our snobbish image is unjustified,” Virshubsky told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The party had five Knesseters in the outgoing Knesset.

Shinui was established in 1974, as part of the general protest movement that followed the Yom Kippur War. But unlike the rest of the protest camp, the group declared from the start that it wanted to take the political path in order to change the political system. Others merely wanted to topple the Golda Meir government, but did not offer alternatives. The new body included people like Rubinstein, Virshubsky and Prof. Yonathan Shapiro of Tel Aviv University, who in the past had no political background, and were taking their first steps in this course. “The shock of the Yom Kippur war had awakened us all,” recalls Virshubsky.

For two years the young movement operated outside the political system, but carefully planned running for the 1977 elections. Prof. Yigael Yadin took them by surprise when he declared his intention of joining politics with his Democratic Movement. The partnership was almost inevitable, despite the unfortunate outcome two years later. Yadin had a nationwide appeal, he believed in similar principles — and essentially would have appealed to the same public that Shinui was hoping to attract.

Thus came the merger that Shinui leaders still believe could have proven the alternative to both the Alignment and the Likud. The party was generally of a dovish character, believed in liberal internal policy with special emphasis on civil rights — and distinguished itself from the leftist movement by its determined opposition to the idea of an independent Palestinian state.

Virshubsky is certain that if the DMC had not gone into a partnership with Shmuel Tamir, the DMC would have proven successful. However, he says, as soon as Tamir joined, there were local intrigues, which later brought about the split.

Although the Shinui group opposed joining the Likud coalition, it swallowed the bitter pill for nine months, which were the dramatic months culminating with the historic Camp David Accords. By August, 1978, Shinui split from the DMC, over a technical vote, but essentially because there was no longer common language with Yadin’s group.

“Had we not joined the coalition, we could have worked for four years in the opposition, establishing ourselves as an alternative,” laments Virshubsky.

For the June elections, Shinui is going solo. “The failure of the DMC does not mean that we should give up our good ideas,” said Virshubsky. He is aware of the fact that the movement has the problem of competing with the Alignment for essentially similar voters, but he argues that Shinui has better credibility, and that whether the Alignment wins the elections, or loses it, the party should have a strong liberal center party at its side to counterbalance the rightist camp. “If not us, who will be the partners: The NRP, Dayan?” he asked.

The movement has several thousand registered members, with 35 branches throughout Israel. It has a national council of 120 members. Some 75 percent of them are representative of the local branches, and the rest are elected nationally. There is an executive of 10 members. It claims the record of several Parliamentary initiatives such as the bill for equal rights to all trends of Judaism (which failed to pass) and an attempt to make the Scroll of Independence part of the State’s law. The Shinui Knesset faction has the heighest record of attendance in the Knesset.